BY GlobeNewswire
— 4:05 PM ET 03/19/2015
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., March 19, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Metabolix, Inc. (MBLX) , an advanced biomaterials company focused on sustainable solutions for the plastics industry, today reported financial results for the three months and full year ended December 31, 2014.
"In 2014 we began implementing a plan to reshape Metabolix ( MBLX ) into a specialty biopolymers company," said Joe Shaulson, president and CEO of Metabolix ( MBLX ). "We focused our strategy on commercializing our PHA biopolymers as performance additives in high value applications. We also restructured our U.S. organization, sold our German operations and raised $25 million in a private placement to fund core biopolymer operations as well as an increase in production capacity. Together, these actions leave us well positioned to continue executing our strategy and advancing our biopolymers business in 2015.
"We continue to work closely with customers in our target application spaces, where we believe our PHA biopolymer materials can deliver significant value. Customers are progressing through product testing and validation and are evaluating our Mirel® biopolymers as performance additives for PVC and PLA, as well as in a range of applications requiring functional biodegradation. We are working hard to drive customer evaluations to sucessful conclusion in 2015.
"We recently announced a global, exclusive technology and commercial alliance with Honeywell to offer new marine biodegradable PHA biopolymers for use in cosmetics and personal care products. Honeywell selected our PHA biopolymers because they are a biobased, marine biodegradable alternative to synthetic plastic microbeads, with the potential to address emerging developments in the regulatory environment for personal care ingredients. We look forward to working with Honeywell to introduce new personal care products based on our biopolymers that will be marketed under Honeywell's Asensa® brand.
"In late 2014, we decided to significantly increase our pilot production capacity for Mirel® PHA biopolymers. The expansion of capacity within the existing footprint of our contracted recovery facility is well underway. Once these facility modifications are complete, we will begin ramping production to our expanded nameplate capacity of 50,000 pounds per month. And, as we've noted previously, we will continue to evaluate and develop production expansion options for our business as we bring on commercial scale customers for our PHA biopolymers," said Shaulson.
FULL YEAR AND FOURTH QUARTER 2014 FINANCIAL OVERVIEW
Metabolix ( MBLX ) is managed with an emphasis on cash flow and deploys its financial resources in a disciplined manner to achieve its key strategic objectives. The Company ended 2014 with $20.0 million in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents. The Company's net cash used in operating activities during 2014 was $24.2 million, which was a decrease of $2.4 million from the $26.6 million used for operating activities during 2013.
